Forgotten Feelings
by Trish47
Summary: Series of short oneshots that extend on a scene in S4. Jate. More details inside. Please read and Review. Thanks!
1. Forgotten Feelings

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Disclaimer: I do not own Lost or any of it's characters. They are the property of J.J. Abrams, Carlton Cuse, and Damon Lindeof. I am making no profit from this story.

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**Author's Note: **The following are a series of oneshots all based on the same scene when Jack and Juilet find Kate unconscious in the jungle. I just wanted to play around with the thoughts and feelings of all the characters. This one focuses on all three perspectives. The other two are only from one point of view. I hope you like them. Please review. Enjoy!

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 **Forgotten Feelings**

The two doctors kept a brisk pace as they pushed their way through jungle underbrush. Both of them were tired, sweaty, thirsty and slightly out of breath. Any trivial conversation they had been having had died away; all their energy was focused on breathing and making it to their final destination: the Tempest Station.

Breaking through a patch of trees they came upon the stream that marked the halfway mark to the Dharma Station, but something unexpected was lying on the bank of the stream: Kate Austen.

Jack was the first to see her. "Kate!" he called out, already leaping over the small stream and rushing over to her side.

_I hope she's not hurt to badly, _was Juliet's first thought. But as she made her way over to the pair, a little voice in the back of her mind told her she was lying to herself. That made her stop in her tracks. There was a small part of her that wished that Kate wasn't only hurt, but dead. The blonde doctor shook her head, trying to rid herself of such horrible thoughts, but they remained.

She looked up in alarm as Jack gently shook the unresponsive brunette. His face showed clear signs of panic, which elicited a strange response from Juliet. A fierce jealously swept through her and took hold of her heart so unexpectedly that she was momentarily unable to do anything. It was clear to her that Jack still cared for Kate a great deal, even though Juliet had thought that the two of them had becoming closer over the past few weeks.

And then it dawned on her. She loved Jack. Juliet wasn't sure when it had happened, but realizing her true feelings for the man now was most inconvenient. They had to find Charlotte and Daniel before they did something that could potentially harm—even kill—them all.

But trying to focus on the task at hand did little to help the overwhelming hurt that came over her as she watched the man she felt so deeply for hold another woman in his arms—and not strictly to ensure her well-being.

"I'm going to go and get some water," Juliet said rather softly and she was almost disgusted with how much emotion she had let creep into her voice. But she doubted that Jack had even heard her.

Slipping away, she fought the urge to scream. _Perhaps it's better this way_, she thought to herself. _I'd rather find out now that Jack doesn't feel the same way about me. Then I can distance myself from him. _Another thought struck her then. Ben wouldn't try to hurt Jack if he was with Kate. _I won't let Jack end up like Goodwin_, she swore. _Not if I can stop it._

With that, Juliet picked up her pace and continued on her way to the Tempest Station, determined to stop the two "rescuers" that seemed to have alternative objectives to saving the castaways.

Jack knew that Kate was alive—the first thing he had done was check for a pulse—but no matter how hard he shook her, she wouldn't wake up. Worry and panic began to set in, and even counting to five didn't help. If something was seriously wrong with Kate and he wasn't able to help her, he would never forgive himself. The world-class doctor was frustrated because he couldn't be of any real help to her right now, being that they were in the middle of the jungle.

"Come on Kate," he demanded of her as he shook her, carefully holding her head in his arms. Her dirt-smudged face was devoid of all emotion and her wild hair was covering the dried blood that marked her forehead.

Finally she started to come around. When she opened her eyes, immense relief flooded through Jack's system. He cradled her to his side, not sure if she had the ability to sit upright just yet.

"Hey," Kate said, immediately raising a hand to her forehead and then running it over her hair to a large lump on the back of her head where Charlotte had hit her with the butt of her pistol.

"Hey," Jack responded in a soft voice. "What happened?" he asked her as he began to poke and prod at her head. "Are you hurt anywhere else? Who did this to you?"

His questions jogged Kate's memory and a flame of fury flickered across her brown eyes. "It was Charlotte. She clubbed me with a gun and then took off with Dan." Her tone told Jack that she wasn't too happy about being knocked unconscious.

"Charlotte did this to you?" Jack clarified. His tone was livid. Kate could feel his body tense against her. She half-expected him to jump up and race after her attacker. His jaw clenched and Kate fancied that she could see the fumes coming out of the top of his head.

"Jack…" she said in an effort to distract him, turning his face to hers with a slight touch of her hand. But she had to stop after his name because she wasn't sure what she could say to him to make him calm down. Instead she just stared into his eyes, silently pleading with him to let it go for the moment.

Almost absentmindedly Kate began to search for the source of her discomfort. Her nimble fingers found the bump on the back of her head. It was extremely tender. Not even a moment later, Jack's calloused hand was on top of hers, also feeling the bump. The gesture took a moment to register in her hazy mind, but when it did, Kate lowered her hand and tried to push away from Jack's chest. She hadn't realized their position had been so intimate. And yet, it felt so casual to her. Part of that scared Kate; another part of her reveled in it.

The brunette cleared her throat. "Come on. We should try and find them."

Jack wasn't sure what was causing the strange look in Kate's eyes, but it was gone so soon that he didn't have any time to interpret it. "I want to clean you up a little bit first."

"Really, there's no need," Kate assured him. She wanted to go now, before they were too late. If their "rescuers" were carrying around gas-masks something was terribly wrong.

Jack grabbed her hand as she began to stand up. "Please," he said, "humor me?"

She couldn't deny him when he looked at her with such a worried look in his eyes; they were pleading with her in a slightly playful manner. Well, that and when she had started to stand, her head had started spinning. A few more minutes would probably benefit them more than jumping up and taking off into the jungle on a wild goose chase.

Jack took out a water bottle and ripped a small piece of fabric from the bottom of his shirt. He dabbed at the dried blood on her forehead, each wipe clearing away more of the dirt from her face. Jack was completely absorbed in the task and didn't notice Kate gazing up at him through her eyelashes.

The injured woman could see how much the rugged jungle doctor still cared for her. If he didn't, he probably wouldn't be fussing over her this much, being so careful not to press too hard on the tender parts of her head.

Kate knew what she would tell someone in her position: take some aspirin and don't worry about it. Jack was clearly worried about her. His concern for her highlighted her conviction that he still felt something for her.

Although Kate told herself that she had feelings for Sawyer, she couldn't deny that she also had feelings for Jack—possibly stronger ones. Sawyer was like most of the other men she had been involved with…although he had thrown a few curveballs at her while they had been on the island. Jack; however, was totally different from the Southern con-man. And that's what she loved and hated about him.

He made her feel like she wouldn't be good enough for him. What kind of a relationship would a high-class doctor like him and a felon and murderer like her have? She felt like a real-world Cinderella. She wanted Prince Charming, but realistically she knew that she would have to settle for less. Kate had stopped believing in fairy tales long ago. They just didn't happen.

"There, that's better," Jack announced, drawing Kate out of her trance-like state. He put his supplies away and stood up, offering her a hand. "Let's get Juliet and then we can go to the Tempest Station."

Kate ignored his offer of assistance, determined to show him that she could take care of herself. She was also a little put off by his mentioning of Juliet's name. Kate just didn't trust her. Something about her just screamed evil. That and she knew that Jack cared for Juliet and vice versa.

Jack was sure that he had seen a wounded expression wash over Kate's face when he mentioned Juliet. He knew that Kate didn't like the former Other, but Juliet had never given him reason to distrust her. Jack didn't like to cause Kate any kind of pain though, no matter what the reason was behind it. But the way that Kate ignored his help told him that she was not open to discussion about the blonde doctor.

Her head was spinning as Kate gained her footing. Her vision went temporarily black as the blood rushed down to the rest of her body. She swayed on her feet. She would have fallen backwards, but Jack caught one of her arms and pulled her to him.

When she opened her eyes again she was in his arms, pressed against him with her face inches away from his. They stared at each other, but neither of them tried to break the awkward embrace. An overwhelming urge to kiss him came over Kate. Jack seemed to read her mind, glancing down at her lips before flicking his gaze back to her brown eyes.

Kate could feel the space closing between them; that's when she pushed herself away. Straightening, she mumbled belated thanks and took several unsteady steps away from the man she had nearly kissed. The distance she put between them mimicked the void she felt overtake her. A sadness she had been suppressing filled the emptiness, and Kate had to fight to keep her tears at bay. Now was not the time to get emotional.

"There's the trail," Kate said, her voice weaker than she preferred. "Let's go."

Jack watched Kate as she slowly made her way across the small stream and toward the jungle. They had almost kissed; he had almost kissed her. Jack had thought that any feelings between the two of them were gone. Kate was with Sawyer now; or at least that is what he had believed until this point. Now he wasn't so sure, and it turned his whole world upside down.

He tried to reason with himself that he wasn't the man Kate wanted. Sawyer was better for her anyway. He wasn't sure what the other man could offer her that he couldn't, but he knew there must be something. There was a connection between those two that he and Kate didn't have.

Jack called out for Juliet so that they could leave. No one answered, so he called again, and again. He finally realized that she had already gone off—without them. He had no idea why.

Kate nearly lost her battle with her emotions when she heard Jack yell for Juliet. She already knew that Juliet had gone ahead; she was following the trail Juliet had left behind. The injured brunette couldn't help but wonder what she could do to win Jack over. Or if it was even possible. She hoped that there would be a chance to find out. First, they had to survive whatever it was their "rescuers" were planning.

Jack caught up to her a few moments later and the two castaways headed back into the jungle with Kate leading the way. The silence was charged with unspoken words and confused feelings. Both were in denial and both wondered if they were capable of loving more than one person at a time.

Both came to the conclusion that that was impossible.


	2. Old Habits

**Disclaimer:** I still don't own any of the characters from Lost, or the show.

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**Author's Note: **Just wanted to let you know that this one is from Jack's point of view. Also each story varies slightly. It would be boring to read the same thing three times! Anyway, enjoy.

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**Old Habits...**

Jack pushed his way through the last of the trees that hid the small stream located not far from the beach. He stopped, and Juliet came to stand by his side; both were tired after racing through the jungle trying to find the pair from the freighter. They would take a short breather, drink some water, and continue on.

"Oh my God," Juliet whispered, almost too low to hear. Jack's head pivoted, seeking to find the subject of the blonde's exclamation. When he saw her, his stomach plummeted to his feet and his heart jumped into his throat.

"Kate!" he yelled. His feet were already crossing the stream and running up the embankment to where the unconscious woman was laying. But Jack could barely feel his body respond as his mind raced with a million possibilities. Was she seriously hurt? Who had done this to her? Was it an accident?

Kneeling in the damp mud, he took her in his arms, shaking her gently. Kate didn't respond quickly enough, though, so he began to shake her harder. Jack lifted a hand to her face, turning her chin to both sides, and then moving it up the side of her face to her forehead. A trail of blood that had just begun to dry led to a large cut on the top of her head, just below her hairline.

A low moan from the injured woman in his arms made Jack's heart skip a beat. He cradled her closer to his chest as she came to. When she opened her eyes he saw the initial fear fade from the brown orbs and transform into a soft, welcoming gaze.

"Jack," she said. "Why are you here?" From her tone, the doctor knew that she didn't mind that he was there. She was just confused.

"Never mind that," Jack told her. "What happened? Who did this to you?"

His questions seemed to bring her back to the present. She snaked her fingers through her hair, gently rubbing the lump that was on the back of her head. "It was Charlotte. She hit me over the head and took off with Dan." After a pause she added, "They had gas masks with them Jack."

"I'm going to go and get some water," Juliet announced. Kate hadn't even realized that the blonde doctor had been there at all. Jack had all but forgotten about her as well. Both ignored her comment; they were too busy staring at each other.

Coming to his senses, Jack helped Kate to sit up straight, and then began to look at her head in earnest. "Are you hurt anywhere else?" he questioned as he began to dab at the cut on her forehead with a damp rag he had wet with water from his water bottle.

"No. I don't think they really wanted to hurt me, but I don't know what they were doing. They are obviously here for reasons other than rescuing us," Kate remarked.

"Juliet and I were following them. When we realized they were missing we knew that they were up to something," Jack agreed. 

Jack took a small bottle of peroxide out of his backpack and poured some on the cloth. Kate smiled, finding it funny that he was always prepared for the possibility of something bad happening. He wiped at her injury, holding her brown curls away from her face. She cringed slightly when Jack began to clean the center of the cut.

"Sorry," the doctor apologized, gently blowing on the area to remove any sting from the peroxide. He caught her smile out of the corner of his eye, making him smile too. The silence between them was a comfortable one.

"So I told you why Juliet and I are out here. What about you? Aren't you supposed to be at Locke's camp?" Jack asked as he finished cleaning her forehead and then made her bend forward so he could look at the lump on her head.

"I was exiled from Locke's camp," Kate began in a sarcastic tone. But before Jack could interrupt she told him that it was a long story and that she would fill him in on all the details later.

But Jack wasn't ready to let the subject drop. "What about Sawyer? I'm sure he'd make a case for you if Locke was the only reason you were banished."

"I told you I don't want to talk about it right now," Kate answered in a frustrated tone. Before Jack could stop her, Kate pushed away from his busy hands and began to stand up.

"Kate you should take it slow…" Jack started to tell her. But she was already falling backwards, her body unsteady from the lack of blood flow to her extremities. He caught her before she fell to the ground, bracing her back against the front of his body.

"Like I was saying," Jack whispered against her ear as he slowly stood up, still holding her so she wouldn't slip down the embankment, "You should be careful. It's going to take your body a minute to adjust."

"Right," Kate said, her voice soft. She gripped his forearms as she steadied herself. In another moment, she was able to stand on her own, although she admitted to him that she felt a little dizzy.

"Let's go. We have to catch up to them before they do anything we don't want them to do," Kate told him, speaking of the freighter passengers. She pulled away from him before he could protest and began to walk off.

Jack felt oddly deprived when she wasn't against him. He wasn't sure why he felt that way, but he knew he didn't like it. Instead of acknowledging the possibility that he still had feelings for the fiery brunette, he shrugged it off as being concerned for her. She had been hurt after all, and he was a doctor. It was normal for him to care about his patients.

Still, a voice in the back of his mind told him that it was more than just concern.

Kate was already across the stream, looking for the trail the freighter passengers had left behind. Almost as an afterthought, Jack remembered Juliet. He called out for her but got no response.

Jack found himself worrying about the blonde doctor's whereabouts but he was not nearly as concerned for Juliet as he had been when he had seen Kate laying on the jungle floor.

As he followed Kate, a small part of him wondered why that was.


	3. Dreams that Never Were

**Disclaimer: **Lost and it's characters are not mine and they never will be.

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**Author's Note: **This last one is from Kate's perspective. Again, it is different from the other two. Enjoy and don't forget to leave me a comment. Good or bad.

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**Dreams that Never Were**

For the longest time Kate had thought that being knocked unconscious meant that a person slipped into black oblivion for an unpredictable length of time. She would have never thought that her mind would continue working even though her body couldn't function the way she wanted it to at the moment. But if the dream she was having was any indication of her brain's activity, it was fully functional.

In her mind's eye she saw a black figure moving toward her. At first she thought it was the black stallion that she had seen on the island, but as it moved closer she recognized the distinct features of a human being coming her way; her vision was hazy even in her dream. When she realized who the person was she gasped—at least in her imagination.

It was Jack. He was coming to help her. An immediate sense of comfort and security enveloped her. She was going to be okay. Jack was going to rescue her. She could feel herself smile as she gazed at the handsomely rugged man making his way toward her.

Suddenly, Kate felt her body being shaken. The pleasant dream evaporated; her dream savior melting away in inky darkness. This upset Kate far more than she knew it should have. After all, it was only a dream. Still, she groaned in displeasure and disappointment.

"Kate! Wake up. Kate!" the person—no, man—shaking her yelled. Each word was punctuated with another gentle shake. His voice was heavily laced with emotion.

Kate moaned again, and then opened her eyes slowly so the sun didn't hurt them. Once it registered who was shaking her, Kate thought she might still be dreaming.

"Jack…?" she asked, her throat dry from nonuse.

"Thank God you're okay," Jack exclaimed. The relief that washed over his features told Kate that he had been truly worried about her. She was touched that he cared.

"I'm going to go and get some water," Juliet mumbled. Kate looked up at her in surprise—she hadn't realized the blonde Other had been standing there.

Jack seemed to ignore her completely, focused on Kate. "What happened?" he asked, almost urgently. "Who did this?"

Kate took a moment to think about everything that had led to her being unconscious on the jungle floor. "I was coming back from Locke's camp. Charlotte and Dan were here at the stream…."

Kate decided to leave out the fact that she had been banished by Locke and that Charlotte had pointed a gun at her head. _Best not to focus on trivial details_, she reasoned.

"They had gas masks in their bags. But once I saw them, Charlotte hit me over the back of the head. I'm not sure how long I've been out," she concluded.

"Charlotte did this to you?" Jack asked, ignoring the rest of the information; his tone was furious. He started to get up, but Kate pulled him back to her.

"Calm down Jack. She had a gun. If she had wanted, she could have killed me." The last words came out in little more than a whisper. Kate hadn't realized herself that she could have been much worse off than she was presently. If it had been their intention to harm her, she could have been dead right now.

The brunette watched as all of the color drained from Jack's face, his mouth slightly ajar. Kneeling beside her he tenderly cupped Kate's face, stroking her cheeks with his thumbs and gazing into her teary eyes. She wasn't sure when she had started crying.

"I would never let that happen to you," he told her in a husky voice that was filled with sincerity.

Kate smiled through her tears and turned her face into one of his hands while his other hand moved her hair out of her eyes. "That's a nice thought, Jack, but you couldn't have stopped them."

"Don't say that," he chided her softly. "You know that I would do anything in my power to protect you."

"Yeah, I know," she agreed. She wanted to tell him that he wouldn't always be able to protect her, but decided to let the topic drop instead. An awkward silence fell over them as Jack continued to caress her face. Kate forced herself to stop crying.

"Shouldn't we catch up to Dan and Charlotte? They could be plotting something even now," Kate said.

"Not before I take a look at your head," Jack responded. Without another word he began to poke and prod at the cut on her forehead and the lump on the back of her head. Both areas were rather tender, and Kate tried not to cringe as Jack explored them with his skilled fingers and wise eyes.

"It doesn't look too bad. Just some swelling. It will go down in a couple of days," Jack reported. "There's really nothing I can do for you at the moment. All of my supplies are back at the beach."

"What? No emergency first-aid kit? What kind of doctor are you?" Kate joked. "Even a mother could cure a child better than you."

"I'm not following," Jack said, a hint of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"My mom always used to kiss a booboo to make it better," she laughed.

Jack did grin then and Kate was happy the awkward moment had passed. It was good to see Jack laugh. His eyes held a mischievous glint to them and when he spoke there was a playfulness in his voice that Kate rarely saw any more.

"Do you want me to kiss your booboo and make it all better?" he asked like a parent would.

Kate turned her eyes to the ground and pouted her lips, doing her best to sound childish when she answered, "Maybe."

They both laughed, and Jack took her head in his hands and placed a kiss on the top of it, near her lump. Then he pushed her hair away from the cut on her forehead and placed another soft kiss there.

Something about the skin to skin contact—even if it was meant to be innocent—made Kate's heart pound in her ears, causing the lump on her head to throb painfully. Jack's lips lingered on her forehead before he slowly drew himself away.

Kate looked up at man in front of her, only to find his brown eyes staring back into hers. A light blush colored her cheeks as she looked at his lips then back at his eyes. Jack got the message she was sending, and in another heartbeat his mouth was on hers.

The kiss was sweet and leisurely; tender and slow. It was everything Kate had wanted it to be and more. There was meaning behind this kiss; meaning so powerful that it quickly overwhelmed the kiss itself. Hidden beneath the exchange were words left unspoken; apologies were made, comfort and solace were given, understanding passed between them, and promises were made. All of this in a single kiss.

Kate was the one that broke the contact, afraid of everything she was feeling for Jack. Emotions she had tried to bury since they had met were starting to resurface and she couldn't deal with them at the moment. She turned away from Jack without looking at him, blinking back the tears that threatened to fall from her eyes.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Don't be," Jack replied, touching her on the shoulder.

Kate shrugged off his touch and stood, balancing herself carefully and swallowing the wave of nausea that passed over her. She was still a little dizzy and her head was throbbing terribly, but she was determined to distance herself from Jack, if only by a few feet.

"You okay?" Jack asked her, standing also.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," she answered even as she recovered from nearly tripping. That only made her more determined to get away from Jack before he offered to help her. She wasn't sure she would be able to control her wayward emotions if he took her into his arms right now.

"That looks like a trail they left behind," Kate said pointing in the direction she thought Dan and Charlotte had taken. "Let's go."

"Okay," Jack said. He gathered his things and went to catch up. Then he realized that Juliet was missing.

"Juliet?" he called out. When he got no response he called out again. "Juliet!"

Kate had to bite her lip to keep herself from crying because of Jack's frantic calls for Juliet. _Stupid, stupid, stupid,_ she told herself as she began to follow the trail. For a short lapse in time she had actually believed that Jack still had feelings for her. Obviously she had been wrong. The tone of Jack's voice as he called for the blonde Other told Kate that his feelings for her ran deep.

_Well, I'll still have my dream Jack,_ she said in an effort to comfort herself. But somehow that thought was more even more depressing. She admitted to herself that she couldn't—and wouldn't—settle for a dream Jack. She wanted—and needed—the real one.


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